(Goethe University Frankfurt) Silicones are synthetic materials used in a broad range of applications. Thanks to the stability of the silicon-oxygen bond, they are resistant to chemicals and environmental influences and also harmless from a physiological point of view. As a result, silicones contribute to making everyday life easier in almost all areas. In the Journal of the American Chemical Society, chemists at Goethe University Frankfurt have now described a new way to produce long-awaited silicon building blocks in a simple and efficient way.